Multimodal evoked potentials of Kennedy's disease.

BACKGROUND: Kennedy's disease (KD) is an X-linked recessive polyglutamine disease. Traditionally, it is a lower motor neuron syndrome with additional features such as gynecomastia and tremor. Sensory symptoms are minimal if ever present. We used multimodal evoked potential (EPs) tests to study the distribution of the involvement of the disease.
METHODS: Visual, brainstem auditory, somatosensory and motor EPs were studied in six KD patients. All of them had typical presentations and had been proved genetically.
RESULTS: Abnormal findings were noted as follows: prolonged peak latencies of visual EPs, increased hearing threshold level, inconsistent brainstem auditory EPs, decreased amplitudes of cortical potentials of somatosensory EPs, and increased motor threshold to transcranial magnetic stimulation.
CONCLUSIONS: Our multimodal EP studies showed that KD involved multiple levels of the nervous system. It implies the widespread effects of the mutant androgen receptors.